Mitchel Broussard

Apple's HomeKit platform has expanded to support a variety of device categories since its launch in 2014, now including lights, thermostats, ceiling fans, sprinklers, outlets, and humidifiers. Although close in style to humidifiers, one specific accessory missing from HomeKit has been an essential oil diffuser, and now connected smart home brand Vocolinc has introduced the FlowerBud Smart...

Lyft today revealed that a loyalty program for its customers, "Lyft Rewards," will begin rolling out for select passengers in December, allowing these users to be rewarded for using the service. The program will work by tracking each time you use Lyft to get around, netting you points for every dollar that you spend on the ride-hailing service. With enough points, you'll earn rewards like an...

Volkswagen today announced that subscribers of its Car-Net service can now use the iOS app and Siri to lock and unlock their car. The Siri command for this will be, "Hey Siri, lock my car." With the feature, Volkswagen owners can also start and stop a charging session for electric cars, set a specific temperature in the car, locate the car, turn on the defroster, check estimated mileage, check ...

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo published a new report over the weekend, related to the introduction of new antenna technology that could be coming in next year's iPhone lineup. According to the analyst, Modified PI (MPI) will replace Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) to become the mainstream antenna technology for the 2019 iPhones, but LCP will still be found in the smartphones. Kuo says that...

Following teardowns of the new MacBook Air and Mac mini, the repair experts at iFixit have today published their teardown of the 11-inch iPad Pro. Images via iFixit To start, iFixit removed the display from the tablet and the first thing they noticed were the audio components of the new iPad Pro, made up of four woofers and four tweeters. The speakers and logic board cover impeded access ...

As information on Black Friday sales continues to grow, Sam's Club is planning a one-day-only sale for tomorrow, November 10, and it includes a few Apple items. The focus is $30 off Apple's AirPods, which will mark the wireless headphones down to $117.00, from their current price of $147.00 for Saturday only and available online only. This is the lowest-ever straight discount from a major...

Ember first began selling its temperature control Travel Mug back in 2015, allowing customers to personally control the temperature of their favorite hot beverage from their smartphone, and keep the drink hot for as long as an hour when it wasn't sitting on a charging pad. Ember also sells the Ceramic Mug, which provides all of the same benefits of the Travel Mug but in a size and shape that's...

Twelve South today launched the "PowerPic," a traditional wooden picture frame that includes a hidden, 10W wireless charger. You can place any 5" x 7" photo in the PowerPic, and then to charge an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XS Max, or XR, you simply place the device on top of the photo. Twelve South says that the idea behind the PowerPic was to create a Qi charger that would not add to the...

We're just over two weeks away from Black Friday 2018, and in preparation we have begun compiling sales that we know are coming in our dedicated Black Friday Roundup. This Roundup includes sales on Apple devices and other tech-related items that have been shared early ahead of the shopping holiday, or in some cases have leaked online. So far, we know that Target will have sales on iPhone,...

Accessory company Hyper today announced the HyperDrive USB-C Hub for the 2018 iPad Pro. Apple's latest iPad Pro is the first of the company's tablets to include USB-C (replacing the Lightning port), allowing support for third-party USB-C accessories like Hyper's new device. The HyperDrive for iPad Pro adds six total ports to the tablet: 4K HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, SD card slot, Micro SD...

With the new Pure 2 EyeGuard Blue Light Glass Screen Protector, accessory company BodyGuardz is selling a screen protector that promises extreme impact shock absorption, along with the added bonus of blue light filtering for your eyes. For those unaware, many people face overexposure to blue light from displays used in their jobs, which has been shown to result in the damage of light-sensitive ...

Apple will replace the existing "2018 Midterm Elections" channel in Apple News on November 6 with a new "Election Night" section, providing readers with real-time results of Election Day 2018 (via TechCrunch). The change will happen at 8:00 p.m. ET on November 6 and showcase live results, updates on key races, the latest developments, and more. To ensure that readers can quickly keep tabs on...

Mophie today launched the long-awaited Juice Pack Air case for the iPhone X, nearly eight months after it received Qi certification for the accessory. The case comes in two colors -- Black and Navy -- and is being sold for $99.95. The Black Juice Pack Air can be ordered today and will ship in 1-2 business days, but at the time of writing the Navy is out of stock. Juice Pack Air is a Qi case...

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the first products launched by Philips Hue in October 2012, with an original system that came with three Hue bulbs and one bridge and was sold as an Apple Store exclusive. Over time, Philips Hue added HomeKit support after Apple introduced the software framework in 2014, and numerous new bulbs, lamps, lightstrips, and more have come out of Philips Lighting ...

The calendar has rolled over to November and multiple retailers today kicked off pre-Black Friday savings, including eBay and Amazon. On eBay, the company has begun its "11 Days of Deals" event, which will provide a rolling list of savings on tech, apparel, and more, beginning with discounts on a trio of Apple devices. Today is the first day of the event, and eBay is discounting the iPhone XS, ...

Spotify today reported its third quarter earnings for 2018, announcing that paid subscribers for its streaming music service have grown to 87 million and total monthly active users (including the free tier) now reach 191 million. This is an increase from 83 million paid subscribers and 180 million total users that Spotify had in July 2018. In terms of year-over-year growth, paid subscriber...

Following in the wake of Apple's Mac and iPad event yesterday, MacBook Pro models that were refreshed over the summer have received a few discounts at Adorama and B&H Photo. The new sales are currently the best found online among the major retailers and offer $100-$300 off original prices. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we ...

A new article by Business Insider today takes a look into failed talks that occurred between Apple and startup Leap Motion, which the Cupertino company tried to acquire twice in less than five years. Leap Motion is a company that focuses on making advances in the fields of virtual reality, augmented reality, and hand tracking technology. According to multiple unnamed insiders, the most recent...

A new report out this week by Bloomberg highlights Apple's ongoing efforts to boost adoption of Apple Pay, which is said to be gaining more traction this year thanks to the launch of Apple Pay Cash, as well as a growing number of of retailers supporting the mobile wallet. Although it still struggles to surpass rival mobile wallets, analyst Gene Munster argues that Apple's real advantage lies in...

Accessory company Nomad today launched the Base Station Apple Watch Edition, which includes a Qi charging mat for iPhone and integrated charging puck for Apple Watch. The new accessory is an upgrade from the original Base Station, which was focused on Qi charging for iPhone and lacked Apple Watch charging support. The Base Station Apple Watch Edition includes three 7.5W charging coils...